The name Wasco comes from the native Wasco Indian
word “wacqlo,” meaning a cup or small bowl made of horn; reference to a cup shaped rock near the main Wasco Indian
village.

The seed for the City of Wasco was planted in 1864, when Jesse and Mary Eaton and
their family settled in the area known as Spanish Hollow, located at the intersection of the Oregon Trail and the road
south from the Columbia River. In 1870, Eaton received a post office commission for Spanish Hollow, and a stage stop
was established.

The first settler at the current Wasco location was Clark Dunlap in 1879. Soon
after, the Armsworthy, Biggs (1881) and McPherson (1881) families settled nearby. In 1882, a
townsite was formed at the corner where the McPherson, Biggs, Armsworthy and Dunlap homesteads intersected. In
that year, the post office was moved to the southeast comer of Clark Dunlap's land, and the new postmaster, Wilson M.
Barnett, changed the name of the town to Wasco. By 1883, the town had residences, a church, blacksmith and machine shops,
and a flour mill. A drug store was built in 1885. Levi Armsworthy and his sister, Sarah, built the Oskaloosa Hotel
in 1887. The first school was built in 1888, and Barnett established the first bank in Wasco in 1890.

Sherman
County was formed in 1889, and Wasco became the first county seat. County court meetings and trials were held in the
Oskaloosa Hotel until 1892, when a vote moved the county seat to Moro.

In 1897, the Columbia Southern
Railway reached Wasco, and the train station was built in 1898. Wasco was incorporated in 1898 with George N. Crosfield
as the first mayor. The population within the city limits was 300 living in 55 residences. At that time, the city
had a single telephone and electric power provided by a local steam plant. Like most cities
of its era, Wasco suffered a disastrous fire, in 1903, losing a sizeable store, the Wasco Opera House (later replaced
by Aker's Opera House) and residences. As a result of the fire, Wasco began to build its fire, water and sewer
systems. Wasco had to reincorporate in 1905 after finding out that the original incorporation was incorrectly
handled.

The Sherman Hotel was built in 1917, based on speculation that a new state highway to the Columbia River
would pass through Wasco. The Hotel burnt down in 1928 and was rebult, only to burn down again in 1956.

In
1921, a central electric power system was introduced. By 1939, a farmer-owned co-op was bringing power from the
Bonneville Dam.

With the advent of the auto, roads followed, influenced by Samuel Hill, son-in-law of railroad
magnate James J. Hill, who also played a key role in Oregon's development. In 1914 the State of Oregon let a contract
for a road to connect Wasco with the main roads and the ferry across the Columbia River. At the same time, the County
built a road to The Dalles by way of Fulton Canyon. Even into the 1920's, Sherman County citizens found it necessary
to use Miller's toll bridge to reach The Dalles. The Sherman County Highway was completed by 1924 as a result of
Wasco and Wasco citizens' efforts in selling city bonds for curbing and grading. It was also thought that the Columbia
River Highway would go through Wasco. In a wave of optimism, trees were planted and the $50,000 Western Hotel was built.
However, development and growth followed the Columbia River, and Wasco remained primarily an agricultural service center.

The devastating floods of 1964 destroyed many of the railroad trestles and tracks along the Deschutes River and in
Sherman County, bringing an end to railroad service in Wasco. The rails were taken up in 1966.

The
present Wasco School was built in 1916 and operated as a high school through 1956, when the high school was consolidated with
Sherman High School in Moro. After that, Wasco School operated as a grade school until 2009.

Businesses in
Wasco have included a weekly newspaper, three hotels, an opera house, schools, churches, two banks, two flour mills, warehouses,
shops and general stores, implement dealers, a livery, a millinery shop, a lumber yard, brick yard, two hospitals, a dentist,
doctors, lawyers, several restaurants, saloons, a bakery, a cigar shop and two barber shops.

Sources:Belshe, Bertha. They Paved the Way, 1976Due, John F. and French,
Giles. Rails to the Mid-Columbia Wheatlands: The Columbia Southern and Great Southern Railroads and the Development of
Sherman and Wasco Counties, Oregon, University Press of America, 1979Kaseberg, Sherry. Sherman County Place
Names, Third Edition, 2009Kaseberg, Sherry. Sherman County Milestones, published in the Sherman County
eNews, 2010City of Wasco Comprehensive Land Use Plan, June 2003 revision to incorporate Transportation System
Plan